QUESTION: What does it mean to be filled with the Spirit? (Ephesians 5:18).

ANSWER: To be filled with the Spirit is to be completely controlled by the Holy Spirit. If you fill a glass with water, then there is no more room for anything else in the glass. Similarly, when a believer is filled with the Holy Spirit, there will be no room for pride, anger, selfish thoughts or any other manifestation of the flesh. To be filled with Him, we must be first emptied of us. As seen from the context, persons filled with the Holy Spirit will:

1. be singing and making melody in the heart unto the Lord (Ephesians 5:19);
2. give thanks always for all things unto God the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:20);
3. submit themselves to one another in the fear of God (Ephesians 5:21). This mutual submission to one another will be shown by a spirit of humility, love and gentleness in dealing with one another.

It is important to notice that being filled with the Spirit does not mean possessing more of the Spirit but allowing the Spirit to have more—even all of us. Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the body of the believer is now His temple. See John 14:17 and 1 Corinthians 6:19. The Holy Spirit is therefore a Resident in every believer. However, He not only wants to be Resident, but the President of our lives. When we are filled with the Spirit we will not be aware of any spiritual superiority over others. Our hearts will be occupied with Christ and not with ourselves (John 16:13,14).

The filling of the Holy Spirit is different from:

1. The Baptism by the Holy Spirit. This work of the Holy Spirit places the believer into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13).
2. The Indwelling. The Holy Spirit dwells within the body of the believer giving the power for holiness, worship and service (John 14:16).
3. The Anointing. Through this anointing, which sets us apart to God, the Holy Spirit teaches the believer all things (1 John 2:27).
4. The Earnest. The Holy Spirit is the pledge or foretaste of our inheritance which is laid up for us in heaven (Eph. 1:14).
5. The Sealing. The Holy Spirit is given to believers as a seal or proof that they belong to God. It implies ownership and security (2 Cor. 1:22; Eph. 4:30).

The five things listed above all take place the moment a person is saved. They are all dependent upon the finished work of Christ and can therefore never change for the believer.

Being filled with the Spirit does not necessarily take place at the time of salvation. It is dependent upon heart occupation with Christ and obedience to the Word. It is something which must be continual moment by moment. My being filled this hour will not do for the next hour. If sin comes into the life of the believer, it grieves the Holy Spirit of God (Eph. 4:29,30) and fellowship with God is broken. When sin is confessed (1 John 1:9) fellowship is restored and the believer can know again the filling of the Spirit.

—John D. McNeil